Famous Brands

George “Senior” Halamandres, also known as “Uncle George”, was born in South Africa and as an adult lived in the United States for a time in the early 1950’s. While living there he discovered new concepts in the food industry and took notice. One of them being the concept of “franchising” which he successfully introduced to South Africa. He opened the first Milky Lane in 1959 and first Golden Spur in 1961 and through the following years built a large number of stores, ranging from steak houses and take-away stores.

Uncle George was in fact a “Halamandaris”; the different surname was due to a spelling error that was made at the Home Affairs department.

1971: Uncle George brings Panayiotis (the oldest Halamandaris brother) from Greece to South Africa and he works at the Seven Steers in Highlands North, South Africa which was later sold. Panayiotis then moved to work at the Seven Steers in Hillbrow, South Africa. Later he moved again and worked at the central manufacturing kitchen which supported and supplied all Steers stores, which at the time consisted of approximately 70 stores nationwide, including the original founded brands Seven Steers, Black Steers, Longhorn Steers and Burger Ranch. 1973: Panayiotis buys the Steers take-away store in Bellevue from Johnny Halamandres (Uncle George’s youngest son) and operates the store independently under his control. 1974: Theofanis (the second oldest Halamandaris brother) emigrates from Greece to South Africa and works at local supermarkets for a while. 1976: George “Junior” Halamandres (Uncle George’s oldest son) passes away which causes severe emotional trauma to Uncle George and he starts to loose interest in the food industry and the number of stores start to diminish through the following years. 1977: Panayiotis returns to Greece and passes the Bellevue store to Theofanis to take over and operate. 1980: Panayiotis from Greece and Periklis from Australia (the third oldest Halamandaris brother) arrive in South Africa for Theofanis’ wedding. They decide that Panayiotis and Periklis are to return to South Africa in the near future to expand the business. 1981: Periklis emigrates to South Africa and the two brothers open the second store in Yeoville. 1982: Panayiotis returns to South Africa and joins Theofanis and Periklis in operating and managing the stores. 1983: The three brothers open the third store in the Sandton City shopping mall in Johannesburg. Unknown at the time, a store that would change everything and put the brand on the map. The store booms within months and the business leaps to new heights. 1984: Uncle George sees the success of the three brothers and proposes for his son and the three brothers to join forces and merge into a single unit, which proved to be a long standing and powerful unit of men. Johnny at the time owned the central manufacturing kitchen and the Steers take-away store in Jeppe, South Africa. The three brothers at the time had the three Steers stores, Bellevue, Yeoville and Sandton. After the merger, the men decide to relaunch the Steers franchise, informed the public and receive great interest. Each member took on specific responsibilities: Panayiotis finances, Theofanis operations, Periklis franchising and Johnny marketing. The unit agrees on core principles from the start: ethical business conduct, hard work and trust between themselves. Babis (the youngest Halamandaris brother) emigrates to South Africa to join and help in expanding the business. 1984-1994: The now five-man unit focuses on the expansion and success of the business, no diversions and business only. 1994: The management team take the company public on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on 9 November 1994 at the IPO price of R1 under the company name Steers Holdings Limited, which was later renamed Famous Brands Limited. A share split of 2:1 was implemented a few years later after the IPO. 1997: Periklis and Babis relocate to Greece to further expand the Steers brand into the country, which unfortunately comes to an end in 1999. 1999: Babis decides to leave the group and pursue his private career. 2010: Theofanis steps down as CEO of the company and is replaced by Kevin Hedderwick. Theofanis remains on the board as the executive Deputy Chairman. 2012: Santie Botha is appointed to the board. 2013: Panayiotis steps down as Chairman and is replaced by Santie as the Chairlady of the board. Panayiotis remains on the board as a non-executive director. 2017: On 9 November 2017, Panayiotis, Theofanis and Periklis officially step away from the board and are replaced by Nikolas Halamandaris (Panayiotis’ oldest son) as their representative on the board as a non-independent non-executive board member. Johnny Halamandres retains his board seat.

At this time, the company was handed to the next generation, with a portfolio comprising the brands Steers, Wimpy, Debonairs Pizza, FishAways, House of Coffees, tashas and Mugg & Bean, Lupa Osteria, Mythos, TruFruit, Aqua Monte, Baltimore and others. The global footprint includes over 2,100 stores locally and internationally, including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Zambia, England, Oman, Sudan, UAE and more. In addition, the company supports all franchise stores with its own supply chain built over decades, starting from the small central manufacturing kitchen to a vast and robust supply chain consisting of manufacturing and logistics. The manufacturing division includes the production of juice, meat, cheese, bread, coffee, ice-cream, sauces and spices and the logistics division transporting all supplies to the stores, delivered through a network of distribution centers and trucks.

Every brand held by the company is the leader in its category and the company is awarded the “First and Overall Winner” in the Financial Mail’s “Top Company” Awards, essentially awarding the company the top spot for of all companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. All men continue to hold their personal shareholding in the company for the foreseeable future.

The Brands portfolio consists of 17 restaurant brands, represented by a network of 2,824 restaurants across (2022):[5] 1. South Africa (SA): 2,470 restaurants

The portfolio is segmented into Leading (mainstream) Brands and Signature (niche) Brands. Leading Brands are further categorised as Quick Service and Casual Dining (2022):[6]

• LEADING BRANDS (2022): Steers, Debonairs Pizza, FishAways, Milky Lane, Mugg & Bean, Wimpy
• SIGNATURE BRANDS (2022): Mythos, Lupa, Turn 'n Tender Steakhouse, Salsa Mexican Grill, Paul (licensed by Paul International), Vovotelo, Fego Cafe, House of Coffees, Coffee Couture
• OTHER (2022): Aqua Monte, Baltimore, TruFruit, Gold Seal

• Official website